Hall of Famer and baseball’s Iron Man Cal Ripken, Jr. made his Major League debut on August 10th, 1981 when he came in as a pinch runner for Ken Singleton in the 12th inning of the game against Kansas City and would later score the winning run to give the O’s the victory. Six days later, Ripken got his first Major League hit off of White Sox pitcher Dennis Lamp and the rest, as they say, is history. Ripken would have his breakout season in 1982 as he played in 160 games to start his eventual historic consecutive games played streak, hitting 28 home runs and driving 93 to earn the American League Rookie of the Year for 1982. Presented here is an award presented to Ripken by Topps called the “Topps All-Star Rookie Young America’s Favorite”. This 7-inch-tall trophy has a 5 x 4 ½ x 2-inch base with a silver bowl on top. Etched on the bowl is “TOPPS All-Star Rookie YOUNG AMERICA’S FAVORITE”. A silver plate is on the front of the base that has engraved “CAL RIPKEN SS BALTIMORE ORIOLES”. This trophy is in good overall condition displaying slight tarnish on the silver. This comes directly from the personal collection of Cal Ripken, Jr. and a signed LOA from Cal will accompany this item.

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